Sri Lanka frees Stalin on bail after arrest draws outcry

COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan court on Monday released on bail top leftist trade union leader Joseph Stalin, whose arrest had sparked international condemnation and widespread protests.

Police have arrested scores of people on charges of damage to public property during months of protests, which peaked with the flight and resignation of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July. Stalin, 57, was arrested on Thursday for contempt after he participated in an anti-government demonstration that was banned by a court in May.

Stalin, named after the late Soviet leader by his staunch communist father, thanked UN Human Rights Council officials who had called for his release and fellow activists who demonstrated across Sri Lanka demanding his freedom.